The UN General Assembly has voted for a resolution supporting the return of Georgian refugees to Abkhazia and South Ossetia. Tbilisi believes this vote is a great achievement for the country’s diplomacy.
The situation was complicated by a vehement confrontation between the Georgian and Russian missions at UN. However, experts don’t believe that the UN resolution will alter the situation surrounding Georgian refugees.
The vote took place in the framework of hearings devoted to long-term conflicts in GUAM (the Georgia-Ukraine-Azerbaijan-Moldova organization) space. The role of Azerbaijani-Georgian cooperation was highlighted by the hearings. “Tbilisi and Baku successfully cooperate in international organizations,” Georgian political analyst David Avalishvili told a VK correspondent.
The draft resolution was supported by 57 member-states of the UN, with 74 states deciding to abstain from voting, and only 13 voting against. According to Georgia's permanent representative at the UN, Alexander Lomay, the number of the countries supporting Russia in this conflict have reduced dramatically in the last few years.
In spite of all this, experts believe that the UN resolution will have no substantial consequences. “As opposed to the UN Security Council’s resolutions, resolutions of the UN General Assembly are not obligatory. So countries may just ignore them; from the point of view of international law, it’s just a recommendation,” political analyst
Nika Imnaishvili says. “However, the fact that such a resolution was passed against all odds is a great victory for Georgian diplomacy,” he adds.
Georgy Kalatozishvili, Tbilisi. Exclusively to VK
